Despite the Heat’s signing of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, it was Joe Johnson and his $120+ contract who were the big winners in the NBA’s free agency market of 2010.
Setting Up the Joe Johnson Situation
The Atlanta Hawks were in a tough situation, or so they would have you believe. Their four-time All-Star and leading scorer, Joe Johnson, was out of contract at the end of the year and able to leave the Hawks as a free agent. The ownership group in Atlanta made resigning Joe Johnson it’s top off-season priority, feeling that the 53-win team had much more to give. Most fans in Atlanta would have welcomed Joe back with open arms, had he not run his mouth in the playoffs and put up an absolute stinker of a performance.
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The Atlanta Hawks’ bus got in an accident after the morning shoot-around in Milwaukee. The real tragedy was their performance in Game 4.
Though dominant at home, the Atlanta Hawks are proving they are mere roadkill away from Philips Arena. Despite the loss of Bogut, the upstart Bucks are beating the once dominant Hawks rather easily at the Bradley Center. Game 3 was a blowout and an embarrassing loss for a 50-win team. On Monday, the Deer took it to the wingless birds 111-104 to tie the series at 2.
John Salmons and Brandon Jennings continue to pester the Hawks. Salmons poured in 23 and Jennings contributed 22 points and 6 assists. But it was the hot shooting of Carlos Delfino (22 points, 6 of 8 from the 3 point line) that spelled doom for Atlanta. Delfino was emblematic of the entire Bucks roster on Monday: hustling, taking smart shots, and converting from the charity stripe. As a team, the Bucks shot over 55% and were 88% from the line on 32 attempts. They took nearly 15 more free throws than they averaged in the prior 3 games.
I would say Game 4 was 50% Milwaukee’s great play and 50% Atlanta simply not being ready for primetime. I love a good underdog story, but the talent of Atlanta is too deep to be troubled by this Milwaukee team. Mike Woodson needs to share a lot of the blame. He has never had success on the road in the playoffs. Though it will likely not derail the Hawks this round, you can bet that against Orlando, zero road wins means a quick summer vacation.
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The Atlanta Hawks dominated the LA Lakers thanks in part to major contribution from the bench. As the playoffs near, solid bench play is key for a long post-season run.
Joe Johnson led the Hawks in scoring with 25 points (including 5 three pointers) as the Atlanta Hawks dropped the Lakers 109-92 in Atlanta. JoJo has been the teams leading scorer all year long and will be counted on to hit some big shots in the playoffs. But on Wednesday night, it was the play of the Atlanta bench that secured an easy victory. Leading sixth man of the year candidate, Jamal Crawford finished the game with 14 points which is 3 points below his average. The real difference was the contribution of Maurice Evans (18 points) and Zaza Pachulia (10 points, 10 rebounds). If the Hawks get production beyond Crawford off the bench, they can be dangerous.
Despite 28 points from Kobe Bryant, the Lakers were never that close in the second half. The lose was only the fourth time the Lakers have dropped back-to-back games this season. With Boston losing to Oklahoma City, the Hawks moved into third place in the Eastern Conference. The victory over the Lakers continued a nine game win streak at home, though still a far cry from 20 games won at the Omni in the 1996-97 season.
The Atlanta Hawks beat the Portland Trailblazers on Monday night, halting Portland’s 6-game winning streak and sweeping the season series. With quality wins against Boston & Denver and a 9-2 record, it may be time to take these high-flying Hawks seriously.
The Hawks needed a 35 point effort from Joe Johnson & a 20 point and 16 rebound performance from Josh Smith to overcome the stubborn, division-leading Trailblazers 99-95 in overtime in Atlanta on Monday night. It’s beginning to look like the Hawks have the makings of a true winner for the first time since Dominique challenged Bird in the mid 1980s.
Save a road loss to the Lakers and an embarrassing gaffe against at Charlotte, the Hawks have taken care of business this year. They are undefeated at home (5-0) and managed and impressive road record of 4-2, including a win at Boston. But how are they doing it? Is it smoke and mirrors, lucky breaks, or are they legitimate contenders in the East?
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Not that it really matters, but Greek basketball is providing a second home for some decent NBA role players.
Greek basketball giants Olympiakos just signed Von Wafer to a $10 million deal over two years. Considering he was making less than $800 grand with Houston, it is simple to see why Von Wafer jumped. The same could be said for Linas Kleiza, who played his college ball at Missou but hails from Lithuania. He netted a two year, $12 million deal. No NBA team, in a smaller salary cap era, can compete.
What does it mean for the NBA? Probably not a lot, although you might see a watering down of a lot of good bench players over the next year. Josh Childress started the European exodus with his deal to Greece. He left the Atlanta Hawks to get big money in Greece. Now the Hawks are back in the playoffs and he is averaging 14 pts a game in Greece. But, he has a hefty bank account.
Von Wafer was a good shooter from distance, averaging 39% from the 3-point line. And if asked to score, he could fill it up. Linas Kleiza was a terrific “7th Man” who could plan multiple positions, decent defense, and shoot from the perimeter. Though the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets won’t be seriously impacted, they will lose some valuable contributors.
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Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Boston Celtics have agreed in principle to a one year contract for Shelden Williams.
I find it interesting that Adrian Wojnarowski decided to say that the Celtics “land” Shelden Williams. Really?!? Land is the word you use? I was thinking something along the lines of “begrudgingly sign” or “throw in the towel and sign” Shelden Williams.
Two years ago the Atlanta Hawks made their second worst draft choice of this decade (not counting the Chris Paul pass-up) by drafting Shelden Williams ahead of Brandon Roy (and Rudy Gay). Shelden played sparingly and was an undersized center and timid power forward. He was shipped to the Sacramento Kings (with some other throw-aways) for Mike Bibby and Atlanta never looked back. Shelden barely cracked a young, injury-riddled rotation in Sac-town, and Bibby went on to lead the Hawks to the 4th seed in the East.
So what is in store for Shelden in Boston? Front row seats to one of the most competitive teams in the NBA. I see him getting 8-10 minutes if the Celtics are able to re-sign Big Baby, and maybe upwards of 18 minutes if the Big Baby goes elsewhere. Shelden can still rebound, but not from the C spot. He needs to play power forward and his offense is very limited.
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